Malawi’s Khumbanyiwa to star in another Hollywood movie

Malawian actor Eugine Khumbanyiwais set to return to the big screen after uniting with District 9 director Neill Blomkamp for a Hollywood Sci-fi comedy titled Chappie, the Nyasa Times can exclusively reveal.

Although Khumbanyiwa refused to divulge the finer details of the new movie, he confirmed that there is work in progress.

“I am not allowed to give details but I can only confirm that I will be joining an awesome cast that includes Hugh Jackman, Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), and others for a new project. The shoot takes place from next week to early next year,” he told Nyasa Times in an exclusive interview.

Hugh Jackman is an Oscar nominated actor and a multiple award winner who people will know from the X-men film series as ‘Wolverline.’

Khumbanyiwa in another movie

Shalto Copley will be collaborating for the third time with Blomkamp. After District 9, they worked together on Elysium and now Chappie. Dev Patel was the lead actor in Slumdog Millionaire which won eight Oscars and other numberless awards.

Earlier this year, Khumbanyiwa reunited with Death Race 3 director Roel Reine for a movie called Seal Team 8 which comes out next year. The film also features Tom Sizemore of Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down.

Khumbanyiwa, who is based in Pretoria, South Africa, travelled to Hollywood in August to attend Blomkamp’s next film after District 9, called Elysium which stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley and William Fichtner (The Dark Night, Black Hawk Down).

“Neill Blomkamp, the director invited me there to see Hollywood and also meet a number of industry people. I had a time of my life and I was treated like an A-list Hollywood superstar.”

According to online media reports, just like District 9, Elysium opened on number one at the Box Office.

Eugene Wanangwa Khumbanyiwa is a Malawian, South Africa- based stage, television, film and voice actor, popularly known for playing the role of Obesandjo in the 2009 Oscar- nominated sci-fi hit District 9.

Khumbanyiwa was born at Cobbe Barracks Hospital in Zomba. His father is Major Stewart Khumbanyiwa, a retired soldier, and his mother Victoria (née Manda), a retired primary school teacher.

He moved from Malawi to South Africa in the early 2000s and worked as an IT specialist before pursuing his childhood dream of becoming a professional actor.

Khumbanyiwa started his acting career as an extra in the 2004 Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo, playing one of the hotel staff members.

After that he worked sporadically, appearing in TV commercials and prime-time soaps like Generations, Scandal and also had a role in South African independently produced hit film Jerusalema (Gangster’s Paradise) before landing a role as an underground war-lord in the Peter Jackson-produced and Neill Blomkamp-directed four-times Oscar-nominated sci-fi hit District 9.

Upon gaining critical acclaim for his performance in District 9, he appeared in an American TV commercial for a security product.

In South Africa, he continues to sporadically appear on television in popular TV shows like, 7 de laan, Rhythm City, 4 Play, Laugh Out Loud, and in independently produced South African films like: Paradise Stop, Algiers, Cry For Love, and a number of film shorts.

Khumbanyiwa does voices for both TV and radio. His voice work credits include the prestigious African Cup of Nations (AFCON2013) soccer tournament’s ‘hello’ radio ads campaign for the City of Johannesburg.

In 2013 he appeared in the Universal Pictures production Death Race: Inferno, a third installment of the Death Race film series franchise as the African racer Nero alongside Luke Goss and Danny Trejo.